The First Move
by life2live
Summary: There's a new girl at Hogwarts, and Harry is a fool. So is Ron, but you all knew that! Maria is a transfer student, falling for the charms of certain oblivious wizard. Twenty guesses who! (Slightly AU, I guess)
1. The Beginning: Maria

**_Maria _**

**The Beginning**

"Bye sweetie! Have fun and- ouch!" Maria's father called as she approached the barrier. She looked back to see that a tall, freckly boy with fiery red hair had just smashed into her dad. He looked quite excited.

"Oh my, are you a wizard?" she heard him whisper loudly to the boy, who was apologizing profusely. Maria grinned and turned around to walk nervously through the barrier. Her father loved everything to do with wizards. The day she had gotten her letter from Marehams School of Magic, he actually had a mild heart attack from his excitement.

Maria pulled her trunk behind her onto platform 9 3/4, glancing around nervously. Everywhere she looked, she saw people calling out to each other, "Oh save me a seat!", or, "Brilliant to see you again!". Maria remembered saying the same things every new school year to her old friends, Jessica and Kelly. She sighed and wished that her mom hadn't decided to move her family to England...

"Quick, the train's getting ready to go!" she heard a voice say. Indeed it was. The whistle emitted a high pitched scream, and smoke was billowing around her.

She hastily pulled her trunk behind her and boarded, glancing around. "Oh, where am I going to sit?" she thought anxiously . Maria wandered through the compartments, but every one she passed were full. Finally she came to the end and looked opened the door cautiously.

Inside were two boys and a pretty girl, laughing about something. The tallest one was about 6' 2", with freckles and red hair. I realized that he was the one that crashed into my dad. The other boy was

5' 9, and had sexy, untidy, jet-black hair that contrasted greatly with his emerald green eyes. Finally, the girl was 5' 6", with staight, light brown hair and warm brown eyes, which were now focused on her.

"Oh! You must be Maria Walker! Dumbledore told me you were coming!" she said brightly. She went to open the compartment door wider and grabbed her suitcase.

"Locomotor trunk." she said, flicking her wand upwards. The trunk floated up into the overhead compartment easily and the girl smiled with white, even teeth.

"Well, come in. We won't bite! Well, Crookshanks might." she said, gesturing to the seat beside her. A ginger cat was sitting in it, but jumped off to let her sit down, then lept into her lap.

"Oh! He likes you!" the girl beamed. The boys were watching Maria with open interest.

"Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Hermione Granger, this gawking idiot is Ron Weasley," she said, pointing at the redhead, "And the other guy is our celebrity, Harry Potter." I smiled at him, and he looked slightly pink, smiling back. Then the words sunk in.

"Harry Potter? _The_ Harry Potter?" I gasped. He laughed, as though he was used to it.

"Er- yeah. I am. I didn't know people from Canada had heard of me." he said amusedly.

"How did you know-" I started, but Hermione stopped me.

"By your accent. It makes you sound quite different." she explained. I nodded, a bit surprised by this piece of news. I knew, of course, that I had a Canadian accent, but I didn't realize how obvious it was. Hermione turned to Harry swiftly.

"And of course she knew about you! You're _Harry Potter_!" she said exasperatedly. Ron snorted.

"He knows that Mione." Harry grinned and faced me.

"So, you're from Canada? Why are you here at Hogwarts then?" he asked curiously. I cleared my throat nervously, his bright green eyes were so wonderfully distracting.

"Um- yeah. My dad had a job offering as a professor at some university or another. It was 'the oppourtunity of a lifetime.'" I said, slightly bitterly. They nodded sympathetically. "I came from a entirely muggle family, except my mom, my dad was so happy, he had a slight heart attack. He's fascinated by wizards."

"That's funny. My dad is nuts about muggles! If they ever got together, he'd probably leave my mum and propose." Ron said. We all burst out laughing at this.

"So, do you know what house you're in yet?" Harry asked. His voice had just the right amount of huskiness in it, and my knees would have given way if I had been standing up.

"I don't know yet. I still need to be sorted." I said, thinking back to my Hogwarts letter. I needed to go up on a platform with a bunch of first years. "Can you tell me about the houses?" I asked.

"Oh no, we shouldn't really, you'd have a biased-" she started, but Ron interrupted.

"Oh sure! There's Ravenclaw, full of little smart-asses." he started. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Hermione could have been in that house." he said, smirking at her. Hermione just ignored him.

"Then there's Hufflepuff." he continued. "They're the goody-goodies of the school. And then, there's Gryffindor. The most _wickedly awesome_, brilliant house there is!" he said. Harry was grinning and nodding fervently. Even Hermione was smiling. I returned their smiles.

"So I guess you three are in Gryffindor then?" I said, laughing a little. "So, what's the last house?" Ron shuddered theatrically.

"Slytherin. They're the slimiest, nastiest, little bastards I've ever had the displeasure to know. And that git-" he started, getting worked up, but he was interrupted by a smooth, drawling voice at the door.

"Talking about me again Weasle? Don't you have anything better to do? Just because you don't get any action over the summer to speak of doesn't mean that you need to talk about me to fill your pathetic silences." I looked to the direction of the voice and was momentarily shocked. It had come from a young man with white blond hair falling elegantly into his stormy gray eyes. Ron turned red.

"Speak of the ferret. What makes you so sure that I didn't get any action?" he said angrily. The handsome blond looked Ron up and down, smirking.

"If you look in the mirror, you might find out." he said haughtily.

"Have _you _looked in a mirror lately Malfoy?" Harry growled. Malfoy smirked.

"I don't need to look in mirror to know how good I look." he said. Harry grinned mischievously. He pulled out his wand quick as lightning and muttered something under his breath. A beam of blotchy red light shot out from the end of his wand and hit the guy, apparently Malfoy, square in the face. Angry red zits erupted on his pale face. Ron and Hermione roared with laughter.

"No kidding!" Harry said, laughing along with them. Maria was torn between laughing and rushing to help the attractive young man. He was glaring at Harry. He took out his wand and tapped his face with it. The terrible acne disappeared, and his face returned to it's original milky perfection. Harry looked at Malfoy, wand still out, grinning.

"Oh Potter, I'm not going to attack you. Yet." he said, then his attention turned to Maria.

"Ah, who is this?" he said, looking at her curiously.

"What's it to you?" Hermione said coldly. Malfoy's eyes flickered to her.

"Looking good Granger. I'd snog you, but I wouldn't want my lips to get all dirtied up." he said cooly. Maria glared at him.

"How dare he?" she thought angrily. Ron stood up, wand in hand, but Hermione motioned for him to sit down.

"Even if you wanted me, you couldn't have me." she said, every word dripping in ice. He just smirked.

"Don't flatter yourself Mudblood. I'm asking about your little friend here." he said, looking back at Maria, who was now seething with rage.

"Don't flatter _yourself_. Just get out." she said icily. He looked taken aback, but his eyes were now alight, like he was on the trail of a conquest. Like he was glad to have a challenge.

"As you wish." he said, winking sexily as he left. Maria mentally slapped herself at the quiver she felt at his smirk combined with that wink...

"Nice one, Walker!" Harry said, grinning.

"Brilliant!" Ron said enthusiastically. Hermione was beaming at her, and she realized that these were people that she could be friends with.

"Th- thank you." she said, blushing from embarrassment combined with that adorable crooked smile from Harry.

They spent the rest of the train ride talking and joking, looking forward to the minute that they would be stepping back into the Great Hall.

A/N: Sorry, I really make Ron say bloody too much. Review please!


	2. Sorting and a Stomache Ache: Maria

"Tolley, Haley." a strict woman named Professor McGonagall read from a roll of parchment.

"Oh Merlin. Almost there! What am I going to do?" Maria said silently.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" a moldy, old wizard's hat shouted from the rip in it's brim. The Hufflepuff table erupted in applause.

"Smart hat." Maria thought dully. She felt extremely self-concious standing on a stage with eleven year olds, though some of them were taller than her. At 5'2", she didn't exactly stand out.

"Venice, Carlos." The boy walked up and put on the hat with shaking hands, his pale face almost immediately covered by the brim. It appeared to be contemplating, then shouted out, "RAVENCLAW!" The boy took off the hat in relief and ran over to his new house table.

"Walker, Maria." Professor McGonagall called out.

"Alright. Stay calm." Maria thought, taking deep breaths as she approached the hat. The last thing she saw before the hat slipped over her eyes was Hermione, Ron, and Harry. They were watching her intently, except for Hermione, who was appeared to be saying something something under her breath, eyes shut tightly. Then, everything went dark.

"Ah, the new seventh year are you? Yes, yes...dear me, where to put you...you are exceptionally bright... Ravenclaw would do you well...brave as well...possibly Gryffindor...but sharp wit...cunning...Slytherin would also be a match... this is difficult..." It whispered in my ear.

"No!" Maria said aloud. She heard quiet giggles and laughter from the hall and her face burned.

"No what?" the hat asked.

"I don't want to be in Slytherin!" she said, quite loudly. This time, she distinctly heard Ron and Harry laughing loudly. She couldn't help but grin slightly.

"Alright, alright...I get it. No Slytherin...Ravenclaw?" it asked hopefully. Maria shook her head furiously.

"No!" she said, getting a bit frustated.

"So, Gryffindor then?" it asked, sounding a bit annoyed. Maria rolled her eyes.

"No, duh!" she said, smiling a bit more at the loud laughter ringing through the hall.

"You Americans..." It muttered.

"I am _not _American!" Maria said, sounding a bit disgusted. The hall was now exploding with laughter.

"Same thing." It said peevishly.

"Oh, just get on with it." she muttered.

"Fine." It said, a bit sulkily.

"GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted out, and Maria smiled.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"Yeah, yeah." It said, but it didn't sound as grumpy as It had a minute ago.

Maria pulled the hat off her head gratefully and felt a bit red in the face from all the cheers and whistles she was getting. Many people were even standing up, which struck her as funny.

"Why the hell are they standing up?" she asked bemusedly. Harry grinned widely.

"Because you said right out loud that you didn't want to be in Slytherin. Everyone loathes Slytherin to the depths of their souls." he said.

"Bloody brilliant!" Ron added, his face red from laughing. Hermione was beaming at her.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're in Gryffindor! Though, I suppose you made a fair few enemies at Slytherin." she said, gesturing to their table. Sure enough, all of them were looking at her with particular viciousness, Malfoy was looking especially pissed. Maria smirked at him and turned to face her new friends again. Harry was watching her, and he gave her one of his sexy smiles before facing front again.

The rest of the sorting flew by, much to the pleasure of Ron.

"If I don't eat something now, I swear, I will go mental." he groaned. Hermione shook her head.

"Honestly Ron, you ate just a few hours ago!" she said scoldingly

"And besides, you're already mental." Harry said cheerfully. Ron shrugged.

"Well, yeah, but-" he started, but the room grew silent. I looked expectantly to the front and saw that Professor Dumbledore, whom even I knew, was standing at the front of the hall, his silvery-white hair and beard glinting impressively in the candlelight.

"Now, usually, I would give a speech to you all, about the rules and such, but I have a bit of a sore throat. Madame Pomfrey assures me that it shall be gone by the end of the feast, but she also assures me that she will flay me alive if talk too much. So just dig in, and enjoy this wonderful feast." Professor Dumbledore said, his bright blue eyes twnikling. Indeed, his voice was quite raspy, but Maria had thought that that was just the way his voice was.

"Excellent!" Ron exclaimed as every food imaginable appeared on the plates that Maria had just noticed were solid gold. Everywhere she looked, people were helping themselves to the fabulous dishes so she followed suit and piled mashed potatoes and a thick steak on her plate. Ron looked at her with a mixture of admiration and amazement on his freckled face.

"Are you gonna eat all that?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure. Well, as much as I can." I answered, grinning. Hermione sighed.

"Don't put it to waste Maria. Do you know that house elves work tirelessly to prepare these meals?" she said. Maria shook her head. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Harry and Ron were exchanging exasperated looks, and were trying not to laugh.

"I saw that you two! I told you I'd give up S.P.E.W., but I still don't think it's right to have over a hundred house elves enslaved to fullfill our every whim!" Hermione said angrily. They stopped smiling and looked up at Hermione, but both their eyes were still sparkling impishly.

"Oh, come off it Mione! We were laughing about the wicked burn on Slytherin!" he said, his mouth full of steak and kidney pudding. Hermione winced as some fell out of his mouth, and Harry shook his head.

"After seven years here, he's _still_ talking with his mouth full!" he said, smiling a little. Maria spent the rest of the meal listening to the hum of the great hall grow more and more contented. After a dessert of chocolate mouse and chocolate icecream (Bloody hell, that's a lot of chocolate!" exclaimed Ron.), they all got up to head to their dorms, except for Hermione, who, as head girl, had a dorm of her own.

"Night you three." she said, giving them a small wave as they parted. Her dorm was just a few portraits away, so she was still be nearby. She whispered the password and the portrait opened, then she disappeared.

"Shall we go in then?" Harry asked. They nodded.

"Password?" the rather large woman said from the portrait, looking bored. She looked at them and saw Maria standing there uncertainly.

"Oh! New girl are you? Must be, never seen you before, have I? I heard from my friend Vi that you were coming. I'm the Fat Lady, but I must say that I never fancied the name. Quite insulting-"

"Twinkle toes." Harry said impatiently. The fat lady gave a great sniff and turned up her nose in an insulted way. The portrait swung open to reveal a large, warm room that made Maria feel safe and at home.

"Well, girl's dormitories are that way. Do you need a little help getting up there? I'd be happy to walk you up." Harry said, his emerald eyes twinkling mischievously,the trademark grin on his face. Maria grinned, but felt that her knees were going to give way again. Those eyes and that smile were just too much.

"No, I can find my own way up thanks. Night you guys." she said, giving them one of the most sincere, happiest smiles that she had given the entire day. And with that, she went up the spiral staircase leading up to her dorm, where all her stuff had already been brought up. Also already inside were two girls. One of them had a long, brown braid that went down to the small of her back, the other had short black hair that flattered her pretty face.

"Hello." Maria said nervously. The two girls looked at her warily. Finally, one of them replied.

"Hello to you too. You're Maria Walker." the black haired girl stated. Maria laughed.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Parvati Patil. This is Lavender Brown." the dark-haired girl said, gesturing to the the girl with braided hair.

"Pleased to meet you." she said, giving them the friendliest smile she could muster. To her relief, they smiled back.

"So, you're hanging out with Granger? She's certainly changed, let me tell you. Physically anyways. Half of the guys in school drool over her. Still a little know-it-all though." Lavender said, slightly bitterly. Parvati nodded, and Maria had to fight not the let the great surge of dislkine show on her face.

"Well, Harry and Ron have changed too. And so much for the better. All that quidditch I suspect..." she said dreamily. Lavender giggled.

"Their arms are like steel! Abs to boot too!" she squealed. Maria felt quite sick. "That Draco Malfoy is hot too. Such a bad boy..." she giggled. They continued judging the guys in the school. According to them, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were first, then Ron Weasley, then two boys named Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan.

"Oh, you and Hermione are so lucky! You get to be around Harry all the time! Those green eyes of his, even those glasses can't cover up..." Lavender started.

"And that sexy little smile! Ooh, what I would give to be the girl that he decides to bring up to his dorm!" Parvati, finished, giggling madly. Maria smiled in a pained way.

"Uh- I'm tired. I think I'm going to turn in." she said, trying not to let her disgust be heard. They looked at her as if just remembering she was there.

"Oh, g'night." they said at the same time, then immediately picked up where they left off, guessing the length of the "wands" of the aforementioned, "hot" guys. Maria shuddered and closed the curtains surrounding her four-poster bed, and shoving her pillow over her ears, trying to block out the sounds of the two girls giggling as they mentally undressed guys in Hogwarts. Her stomache was threatening to remind her of what she had eaten for dinner, and she didn't think it had anything to do undercooked food.

A/N: How am I doing? Constructive critisism welcome!


	3. Shadowing a Jerk: Maria

Maria woke up late the next morning. She yanked the hangings apart and groaned as she glanced at her watch. It read, " 9:30".

"Shit!" she groaned. She pulled on her uniform quickly, then pulled it off again, having put it on inside out, then she had to clean off a spot on her black robes. Luckily, it just took a simple spell, but by then it was already ten o' clock. Maria braided her hair into pigtails, then ran all the way to the great hall, but it was already empty.

"Double shit!" she gasped, holding a stitch in her side.She sunk into a seat at Gryffindor table and caught her breath. After her heart had stopped beating painfully, she got up.

"What am I even doing here? Everyone one is already in class." she thought, then she groaned. Hermione had mentioned that students would be getting their timetables at breakfast.

"Where am I supposed to go?" she wondered aloud, walking out of the hall. A nearby suit of armour sniggered, and she glared at it.

"Shut up!" she said irratably. She was just about to rush off, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hey! Walker!" she stopped, tensing her shoulders.

"Malfoy." she growled. She slowly turned around.

"What, not happy to see me?" he said, a smirk on his pale face. Maria narrowed her eyes.

"No, I definetly am not. What do you want?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"I want what any other teenage guy wants." he said quietly, smirking at the faint blush that was creeping up Maria's face.

"Stupid guys and their hormones." she thought angrily.

"So basically, you need to be neutered." she said impatiently.

"Hostile thing, aren't you?" he said, moving closer towards her.

"Stay back, _ferret_." Maria said coldly.

"Fine. I have to get back to class anyways. I don't want to miss Professor Snape's rain of insults on Potter's pitiful potions." he said carelessly. He turned on his heel and headed down a flight of stairs. Maria stood there a minute.

"Harry is in his class?" she thought. She gasped and hurried after him silently. The stairs led down to a drafty passageway that got colder and colder the further she went. Maria hardly dared to breathe as she crept behind Malfoy, knowing that if he knew that she needed his help getting to class she would never live it down.

There was a door up ahead, smoke was billowing through the crack at the bottom of the door.

"Following me, Walker?" he said, without turning around. Maria stopped.

"What? I wasn't. The world doesn't revolve around you." she said, rolling her, eyes, but she was blushing slightly as she pushed the door to the classroom open.

The room was dark, and there were multi-coloured clouds obstructing her vision. Suddenly, a figure swept out of the smoke, black robes billowing. His greasy hair fell on his face, and his eyes glittered cruelly.

"Malfoy, back to your cauldron." he said, looking at Maria with distaste.

"Do you realize that you are over an hour late?" he said in a dangerously soft voice. The previously murmuring class was now silent. "I don't condone lateness in my class. Being new won't get you any sympathy."

"So? I don't remember asking for any." she said coldly.

"Why you insolent little-" he started, voice coldly, but he was cut off by a drawling voice.

"Professor, I-" I heard Malfoy say. The man stopped, breathing a little heavily.

"Quiet Draco." he said, his eyes glinting malevolently. "Detention Walker, and fifty points from Gryffindor." he said smoothly. Maria glared at him a minute, then headed into the smoke.

"Walker! Over here!" she heard Harry call out. She turned and saw him motioning for her to sit down with him. Hermione and Ron were sitting together two seats up, shocked expressions on their faces, but Harry looked supremely pissed.

"He's such a bastard!" he growled when she sat down beside him. "The year has hardly even started and he's already taking off fifty points! Git..."

"You know how unbalanced Professor Snape is. Dumbledore took him off his special mission, he lost the defense against the dark arts job to Professor Lupin again..." Hermione said, adding a couple drops of bat blood to her potion. It hissed and turned a dark blue. Before Maria could ask about the secret mission, Ron interrupted.

"He deserved it, the over-grown bat." he snarled, pouring half the vial into his potion, which exploded.

"Bloody hell!" Ron yelped. Everything the potion touched started to bounce up and down. Snape appeared out of nowhere, sneering at Ron's failed potion.

"Two drops of bat blood, Weasley. After seven years here, you still can't read. Obviously even a simple levitation potion is too much for you. Ten points from Gryffindor." he sneered. He took a small bottle out of his pocket and poured a drop of the light blue potion on everything that was bouncing around. With looks of contempt at Harry and Maria, he turned around and went back to his desk.

"Nice one, Weasley." Malfoy muttered from the table to Maria's right.

"Malfoy, please, just _shut up_." Hermione said exasperatedly. Malfoy smirked and went back to his own potion.

"Whoa. That was weird. No come back!" Harry said in surprise.

"I'm not complaining." Maria said, rubbing her temples. Parvati and Lavender had stayed up late, their high-pitched giggling echoing through the room. Finally, at three in the morning, she had come to her senses and told them to shut up. They got indignant and started storming about how rude she was, but she put an Unperturbable charm around her bed and immediately fell asleep.

A high pitched cry filled the room. I troll-like boy was screaming as his potion fell in his lap. His legs started floating off the ground, lifting him upside down, his head bashing against the cold stone floor.

"Wow. He actually got it right!" Hermione said amusedly. Maria cringed at his girly cries.

"You okay?" Harry asked her, noticing her wince. She shook her head and told them about her night, grinning at Harry when she told him what they said about him. He was blushing by the time Maria was done.

"Erm-that's...erm-well, weird." Harry said, face red. Ron was looking quite pleased though.

"Third in the school, eh? Wicked! I think I'll go talk to Parvati sometime." he said, leaning back on his chair with a wide grin on his face. Hermione looked at him in disgust.

"Honestly Ron, you are-" But they never found out what Ron was because at that moment the bell signaling the end of class rang. Hermione stormed out of the room, leaving them staring after her, bewildered.

"What's with her?" Ron asked bemusedly. Harry shrugged, looking equally perplexed, but Maria caught his eye, and those emerald gems revealed that he knew exactly what was going on. Maria smiled sadly.

"She likes him." she thought, pitying Hermione at that moment. Hermione, one of the hottest girls in the school fancied Ron, and he was too clueless to realize it. She was about to tell him, but Harry shook his head slightly.

"Let's go." he said quietly, and they left the dungeons in silence.

A/N: You know the drill! mwuahz!


	4. Menopausal McGonagall: Harry

**_Harry_**

Harry, Maria, Hermione, and Ron walked to Transfiguration in silence. The tension between Ron and Hermione was so thick that not even a chainsaw could have cut through it. The entered the classroom, where McGonagall was sitting stiffly in her chair. They took their seats, now sitting four to a table.

"Today, we will be focusing an animagi." she said. The class murmered in excitement. "It is no easy task. To be an animagus, you must be registered with the ministry of magic, stating the animal you transform into and any special markings." she said, eyeing Harry suspiciously. Harry grinned up at her.

"Mr. Potter, this is no laughing matter. Terrible things have happened to wizard that weren't carefully supervised by qualified ministry officials." she said severely. Harry, managed to hide his grin, but when McGonagall turned around, the trio smirked at each other. Last year, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had become unregistered animagi, following in the Marauders' footsteps. Surprisingly, it had been Hermione's idea.

"Oh, it's just an idea! I'm sure we can do it, and it seems so...rebelious!" she had said, eyes shining.

Harry glanced sideways at Maria. She looked a bit smug too, but he couldn't figure out why. He felt his stomach clench at the soft smile that played upon her lips. Cho honestly had nothing on her...

"Mr. Potter! What did I just say?" McGonagall said, glaring at him. Harry blinked behind his circle glasses.

"Sorry Professor. I wasn't paying attention." he said, trying to look actually sorry. She gave him an icy stare before continuing. Harry pretended to listen for a while, then went back to casting sidelong looks at Maria. Her shiny brown hair was in braids, and she was taking notes quickly, her long lashes quivering as her eyes went back and forth across the page. Sensing that someone was watching her, she looked up. Harry caught a glimpse of her deep-golden brown eyes, before going a bit red and looking down at his paper.

"MR.POTTER! YOU HAVE NOT BEEN LISTENING TO A WORD I'VE BEEN SAYING! DETENTION!" McGonagall screamed. Maria winced, and Ron looked shocked. Hermione, on the other hand, looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"What was that about?" Harry asked, bemused after class. Hermione was giggling.

"Now Harry. You know what each girl goes between nine and sixteen, don't you?" she asked, still giggling. Harry and Ron went red, but Maria laughed. They walked into the great hall for lunch, and Hermione continued.

"Well, you also now that around Professor McGonagall's age, they have a thing called-"

"Merlin Hermione! You don't have to say it!" Ron groaned. Hermione just grinned.

"Menopause!" she said gleefully. "It has the same effects of PMS. You know what that is right? Pre-menstrual syndrome? Girls get all grumpy, bloaty, cranky..." she said, now laughing her head off at the looks of horror on the guys faces.

"Oh, it's a natural occurence you guys, grow up! It's just like... say... erections, or-" Maria said, really getting into it, but Harry and Ron both yelled at the same time, "NO!" and ran away.

"Honestly!" Ron said, but he was grinning. Harry, laughed a little then looked back at Maria. Dean and Seamus had gotten up and were talking to her, sneakily looking her up and down.

"Look at them! She's half their height and their already summing up how good she'd be in the sack!" Ron said, grinning. Harry tried to smile, but his stomach as clenching painfully. Besides that time in fifth year, when Seamus had thought he was a nutter, Harry rather liked Dean and Seamus, but at that moment he would have liked nothing better than to shove something up their-

"Harry? What..." Ron said, his eyes finally registering what Harry was seeing. Ron grinned evily.

"Oh...you...erm- fancy Maria?" he said, trying hard not to laugh. Harry felt very hot around the collar.

"Shut up Ron." he muttered, stuffing a couple of chips in his mouth. (A/N: Chips as in fries.) Ron looked as if he was restraining himself from laughing and popped a grape into his mouth.

"Hello, my squeamish little guys." Maria said, plunking herself down beside Harry. Ron grinned, then Hermione sat down beside him, making Harry smile.

"Wha?" Ron said thickly, a chunk of potato dangerously close to falling out of his mouth. Maria wrinkled her nose in mild digust, but Harry saw her eyes sparkling. Ron saw Harry looking again.

"So Harry, heard from Cho lately?" he asked impishly. "She still hot?" he added. Hermione scowled and pushed her food around with her fork. Harry squirmed uncomfortably, feeling his face growing hot. Ron smirked at him, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Who's she?" Maria asked off-handedly. Hermione immediately looked at her, a question in her eyes. Harry looked between them suspiciously. He cleared his throat.

"Er- no one. My ex." he said awkwardly. Maria smiled in a almost pained way.

"Oh. Was she pretty then?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"She was, er-yeah, I guess so..." he said awkwardly. Ron was sniggering evily, and Hermione was looking quite fed up. "I don't fancy her anymore though!" Harry said quickly. Maria nodded aloofly, as though not quite sure she believed him.

"I think I'm quite done. I suppose I should go to the library. Maria?" Hermione said, getting up, looking at Maria with a significant look. Maria nodded and they left together, eyes following them across the room. Harry looked down moodily and noticed that Maria and Hermione had barely touched their plates.

"Thanks Ron." Harry said sulkily. Ron grinned.

"You could just tell her you know." he said. Harry shook his head.

"Since when are you the expert on girls?" Harry asked, feeling peeved. Ron leaned back nonchalently on his chair.

"The ladies love me Harry, what can I say?" he said cockily, then promptly fell off his chair.

"Smooth Ron. Real smooth." Harry said, no longer pissed at Ron, who was now bright red from the laughs around the hall. To add insult to injury, Ginny tripped over him when she passed, spilling a goblet of pumpkin juice all over him.

"GINNY!" he groaned. She glared at him indignantly.

"Well, if you hadn't fallen off your chair, that wouldn't have happened, would it?" she said cooly, and sat down with Dean at the other end of the table. Though they had broken up, they still remained on friendly speaking terms.

"Can we go?" Ron muttered, blinking the drink out of his eyes. Harry grinned.

"Go on ahead. I just need a word with McGonagall. We need a new chaser you know." he said. Ron nodded.

"Later, then." he said, and half sprinted out of the great hall. Harry down his last gulps of iced pumpkin juice and headed up to the staff table. On his way up, he had to pass the Slytherin table.

"Maria appears to fancy with me, can't blame her. Followed me around today, quite the stalker..." he heard Malfoy's voice ring in his ears. Harry tensed. And slowly turned to face Malfoy, now sitting with a much cooler crowd, Blaise, Terence, and Anthony. Malfoy was smirking at Harry, his pale blond hair glinting under the candle light.

"Shut up Malfoy. The day a girl like her follows a git like you around will be the day that I dream about snogging a guy." he growled, clutching his wand tightly, concealed under his robes.

"Bet you do every night, eh, Potter? The wet stuff on your sheets after doesn't mean that you wet your bed, by the way." he said. Blaise was now choking on his food from laughing so hard. Harry narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Oh, honestly Potter, she might be a bit pretty, but she's not exactly hot... I don't want her." Malfoy said. Harry glared at Malfoy, but turned his back.

"Losing your touch Malfoy. Can't even provoke me anymore, can you." he said airily. He was about to start walking, when a flash of light whizzed past his face.

"You have terrible aim ferret." he said dangerously as he whipped around. He pulled out his wand-

"EXPELLIARMUS!" a voice said boredly. Harry's wand flew out of his hand, and landed near Snape, who was standing a foot away, a terrible smile on his pallid face. Harry noticed angrily that Malfoy was still holding his wand, though he looked a little annoyed that Snape had interfered.

"Potter! Fighting again? Why can't you get it through your thick skull that you-must-not-duel-when-you're-not-in-a-classroom?" McGonagall said angrily, running towards the commotion, her face contorted in rage.

"I was attacked first Professor!" Harry said hotly, glad that Dumbledore wasn't sitting at the staff table due to his sore throat, which actually had turned out to be the flu.

McGonagall was shaking with supressed rage, but Snape looked as if he had just been offered a special little treat.

"I say 30 points from Gryffindor, and a detention." Snape said quietly, eyes glinting maliciously. McGonagall nodded, and Harry felt his insides boil in anger.

"I already have detention!" he said loudly. Snape smiled unpleasantly.

"Fifty points then." he said, clearly enjoying the anger that Harry could not express. He looked at McGonagall, but didn't get any sympathy.

"I don't enjoy taking points from my own house, but I have no choice but to agree. Warnings don't seem to have any affect on you Mr. Potter. And Mr. Malfoy, detention for you as well, and 20 points from Slytherin. I saw you attack Mr. Potter when his back was turned. Honestly, didn't you learn your lesson in fourth year?" she asked. To Harry's amusement, McGonagall's mouth was twitching, as if trying to conceal a smile. Harry looked back at Malfoy, grinning widely at the look on the pale face.

"Alright, Professor." Harry said, feeling a lot more cheerful going into detention knowing that Malfoy was in trouble too.

"8:00 sharp in the Library. Both of you. Yes, Mr.Potter, both of you. I won't have you complaning Mr. Malfoy. Maria will be joining you. I don't know how such a nice girl could have gotten in trouble so soon, but you all did the crime, now you must do the time." she said, looking quite pleased with herself. Harry didn't even laugh at how pathetic his teacher was. He stormed out of the Great Hall angrily and headed to Gryffindor Tower.

A/N: Review, review, review! Thanks!


	5. A Girl Talk, and Detention: Maria

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	6. The First of the First Moves: Harry

**Harry**

Harry went up to his common room with Maria to find Ron waiting up for them.

"Hey. How did it go?" he asked as they sat down. Harry twirled his wand around his fingers, having just got it back from McGonagall.

"It was... weird." he said finally.

"Are you going to specify?" Ron asked, rasing an eyebrow.

"We-eell, we had to shelve a shitload of books in the library, no magic allowed." Maria started. Ron grinned.

"Hermione would have loved that kind of detention." he said.

Maria nodded and continued. "True. So anyways, Malfoy was there too, and he and Harry got all pissed at each other, almost started a fist fight, but I stopped them, and... that's about it." she finished.

"Wow. Sounds lovely. Well, now that I know that you guys are safe an dsound, I'm heading up. Coming Harry?" Ron asked, yawning. Harry nodded and turned to Maria.

"Pretty thing, she is. I don't stand a chance in hell." he thought. He put on a bright smile.

"G'night Maria." he said.

"Night, you silly boy." she said, tapping his nose lightly before going up to the girl's dormitories. Harry watched her go, wishing he could join her...

"Oi! Harry! Let's go!" Ron called. Harry shook his head to rid it of his disturbing thoughts, and went up the staircase leading to his dorm. Ron was already changed and tucked snugly in his bed.

"Poor bloke you are." he said, stifling a yawn. Harry pulled off his clothes and changed into his pyjamas.

"Why's that?" he asked, climbing into bed.

"You're falling for Maria. You're going to have a lot of competion. Eyes follow her in the hall you know." he said, closing his eyes. "I'll leave you with that disturbing thought. G'night." Ron said.

Harry groaned. "Bloody berk. How can I sleep with that bit of information on my mind? Time to step up the game plan. Time to have a talk with Hermione." Harry thought. He glanced at his watch. It read, 1:32.

"Yep, no time like the present." Harry said quietly, jumping out of bed and grabbing his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map.

"Booksmarts." Harry whispered in front of a portrait of a pretty girl, no older than seventeen, with black hair and blue eyes. She looked around suspiciously, but then her expression cleared.

"Oh, Harry Potter, sneaking around again?" she gigglied, and opened up to reveal Hermione's private common room. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, and Harry made out a figure sitting in a chair, eyes closed, and breathing slowly.

Harry went to sit down across from Hermione, grinning.

"Falling asleep in front of the fire again, eh Mione? he said loudly. She gave a start and looked around wildly.

"Oh, Harry! You gave me such a fright! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?" she said, yawning.

"It's important though!" Harry whined. Hermione's eyes opened slowly.

"Let me guess. You fancy Maria, but you think you don't stand a chance in hell." she said boredly. Harry opened his mouth, but Hermione interupted. "I know I'm right, there's no use in denying." she said.

"I wasn't going to." Harry said heavily. Hermione's gaze softened.

"Oh, you are such a silly boy." she sighed.

"She called me a silly boy today." Harry said, not knowing why he was telling Hermione that. She smiled.

"Oh, it's so cute and infuriatingly annoying to see you like this." she said, laughing a bit.

"What am I going to do?" Harry asked.

"Don't you think that you should be the one to figure this one out?"

"No. Of course not. I'd butcher it!"

"You make a good point." Hermione replied, looking thoughtful. Harry held his breath, looking at her hopefully.

"Please, please, please, Hermione, please!" he said, making his puppy dog face. She laughed.

"I'm not one of your lovesick admirers Harry, that doesn't work on me! But I will help you, because you're so much more bearable when you're not in a state of depression." she said, smirking. Harry grinned.

"Thanks."

"Okay, so here's the thing. Maria likes you." Hermione said. Harry's eyes lit up.

"Hypothetically speaking, Harry. Okay, so she likes you right? What would you do?"

"A victory dance?"

"No."

"A triumphant jig?"

"No!"

"A winner's boogie?"

"Harry, shut up! I'm trying to help you!" Hermione snapped, but Harry saw the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.

"Alright. Different question. Do you know what body language a girl gives when she fancies someone?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.

"Of course you don't, you dolt." Hermione sighed. "She'll try to make and keep eye contact. She'll laugh and smile around you a lot more. She won't cross her arms, unless she feels insecure. She might brush up against you, or rest her hand on your arm. All these things are an example of positive body language. Keep your eye out for those signs."

"Wow. That's a lot to remember." Harry frowned.

"It' common sense Harry. Also, pay attention to what she says, and how she says it. And for Merlin's sake, make the first move. I know you're chicken, but Maria doesn't strike me as a forward girl. Now get the hell out, I need to sleep." Hermione said, patting him on the leg. Harry grinned.

"Ooh, that's positive body language Miss Granger!" he teased.

"Shut up and get out Harry." she grinned, getting up and heading to her bedroom. Harry smiled and left, feeling very tired, now that his mind was at ease, for some reason. Hermione hadn't really answered anything, but somehow, he felt better.

Harry woke up early the next day, feeling refreshed and determined. He was going to make a move today. The sun wasn't even risen yet, the sky was a pinkish-mauve colour. He pulled on jeans and a sweater.

"Ah, Satuday. The best day of the week." he thought contentedly. He wandered down to the common room, expecting it to be empty so that he could have some time alone to think, but to his surprise, delight, and horror, Maria was standing by a window, looking outside dreamily.

"Maria? What are you doing up so early?" Harry asked, standing a ways away from her. She turned around, her eyes wide.

"Oh! Harry! Good morning. I woke up early and I just couldn't get back to sleep." she said. Harry nodded, his thought spinning in his head.

"I wasn't expecting to make a move so early! I could do it later... no, that would just be stalling. Oh, she's so beautiful..." he thought, blushing at his last one that just sorta popped out of nowhere.

She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a gray zip-up sweater, her hair tied in a simple pony tail. No make-up, no showy clothes, no intricate hairstyles... just Maria.

"Erm- do you want to go for a walk?" Harry blurted out. Maria looked at him for a moment, and Harry held his breath, thinking, "What a stupid idea. She doesn't wan't to go for a walk with you!"

"Sure." she replied simply, cutting Harry's thoughts short.

"Great! Let's go!" he said happily. They left the common room quietly, trying not to awake the inhabitants of Hogwarts. When they finally emerged from the school, they each took deep breaths of fresh air.

"Nice out." Maria said as they walked through the grounds.

"Let's go this way." Harry said, motioning to a path that he'd never taken before.

"Alright." she said. There was awkward slience for a while.

"Damn. What are great idea. Let's take a walk! Good going, Harry." He thought to himself, mentally kicking himself.

He cast sidelong glances at Maria, smiling in a silly way. Her eyes were looking straight ahead, and she seemed to be lost in thought. Harry noticed in dismay that her arms were crossed. "Insecurity alert!" Harry thought, then blushed, because Maria had glanced sideways at him, catching him looking.

"What?" she asked, almost shyly. Harry looked back at her, determined not to look away first.

"Just looking at you." he said. She blushed, looking at him skeptically.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, you're easy on the eyes." Harry said. Now he was blushing. "What am I saying?" he looked away.

"Um... okay." she said, looking down, her cheeks pink.

"Ouch. What was that supposed to mean?" Harry thought.

"So... you're on the quidditch team?" she asked awkwardly. Harry nodded, glad for something to say.

"Yeah." he said.

"And?"

"And what?"

"You don't have to be modest."

"About what?"

"Okay... not modest... stupid maybe?"

"Hey!"

"Alright, alright! You're a genius!"

"What are you getting at Maria?"

"Well, you're captain of the quidditch team."

"Oh, that. I don't want to brag."

"That's sweet." Maria said, and Harry grinned, feeling himself glowing with the praise.

"Well, we have an open spot on the team, chaser." Harry said, trying not to sound too pleased with himself.

"Oh?" she said.

"Yeah. You ever play?" he asked her.

"Actually, I played chaser back in my old school." she said.

"Brilliant! You can try out!" Harry smiled. She shook her head.

"I'm not that good though. I don't want to make a fool out of myself." she muttered. Harry didn't reply.

They had reached the top of the hill, and the sun was just rising. Maria sighed.

"It's so beautiful!" Maria sighed. She took out her wand and transfigured a rock into a soft, flannel blanket. She sat down, leaning back on her forearms. She patted the blanket.

"Have a seat." she said. Harry sat down beside her tentatively. The didn't speak for a while, the sun was now inching above the horizon.

"You know, if you played quidditch back in Canada, you're probably good enough to play here." Harry said abruptly.

"Well, I dunno. I told you, I don't want to make a fool out of myself. Especially in front of you." she said, then turned pink. Harry grinned.

"I won't laugh. Promise. C'mon Ria. Please?" Harry asked, looking at her pleadingly. She smiled.

"Oh, alright. When are the tryouts?" she asked.

"Today." Harry replied. She sighed.

"Great." she said. It was quiet for while. Suddenly Maria turned to look at Harry.

"You called me Ria. No one's ever given me a nickname before." she said, beaming at him. Harry shrugged.

"Well, now you have one." he said, shifting to get into a more comfortable postion. He leant back onto her forearms like her, then he accidentally rested his hand on top of hers.

"Sorry." he mutterd, pulling his hand away in embarrassment. Maria was blushing again. It was suddenly tense again, and Harry didn't know how to fix it. SUddenly, he felt a soft, warm hand on top of his.

"I'm not." Maria said quietly. Harry turned red, but he was smiling foolishly.

"Right." he said. Now, was this one of the signals that Hermione was talking about?

"So beautiful." Maria yawned. Harry looked at her as her eyes closed slowly, freshly minted sunlight washing over her face. Her head drooped over onto his shoulder, and Harry didn't dare to breathe.

"Yeah. Beautiful." he said, resting his head on top of hers, and feeling sleepy and content.

A/N: Okay, I'm open for suggestions now, suggest away! If anyone is reading...lol! And review!


	7. Definitely Not a Morning Person: Harry

Chapter 7 

A/N: I'm going to start writing it in the first person, because that's what comes naturally to me. I hope this isn't too confusing!

Harry 

I woke up to the sound of laughter. I realized that Maria and I had fallen asleep together, and I groaned. I could just see the headlines, "The-Boy-Who-Lived Likes to Do It Outside!" They would have a bloody field day!

I turned to the source of the disturbance, and saw Ginny sitting on the grass, hands over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggles, but it wasn't working. Thankfully, Maria was sound asleep.

"Watcha up to Harry, old boy?" she asked, her face red from too much laughter. I shook my head.

"Ginny, it's not what it seems." I said. She crossed her arms, a smug smile on her face.

"Oh, is that so? That's what they all say, but 98 of the time, it really is. Did you use protection?" she asked, unfazed by my sudden sputtering. She grinned. "Harry, I know nothing happened. You two weren't the only ones that woke up early today. I saw you two walking together when I left the astronomy tower," she said that part really quickly. "And I wanted to know what you were up to." She shrugged.

I nodded. "You nosy little girl." I said. She shook her head.

"I'm not a little girl anymore, Harry." She said, blushing. I kind went a bit pink too. Ginny had definitely grown up, if you know what I mean. She's currently one of the most desired witches in Hogwarts, which I find really funny, and Ron finds very… erm- not cool, in a few words. His exact rant and rave session was very long and full of filth.

"I know you're not Gin. That's probably why you were up in the astronomy tower, eh?" I asked, looking at her knowingly. Ginny blushed to the roots of her hair.

"I-I-er-oh, don't tell Ron. He's such an arse about these things." She said pleadingly.

"Who was the guy?" I asked, feeling a bit protective of her, myself. Ginny goes through boys like most people go through tissues.

"Erm-Harry, do I have to tell you? It's kinda embarrassing." She said, looking down. I grinned.

"C'mon Gin! I won't laugh!" I urged. She sighed, looking up dejectedly.

"Draco Mal-" she started, but I interrupted her.

"Ginny! Draco… No! He's… you know how he is! All girls sixth year and up! He could have all sorts of diseases; just like a dog on the street… he is a dog on the street! He's essentially a gigolo!" I raged. Ginny looked at me with a determined expression.

"And I believe that, like a dog on the street, he just needs someone to love him." She said indignantly.

"But Ginny, what about the diseases? And the slime? And the eternal loathing that your two families share? And what about- wait? Love him? Who could love him? You? I swear, I will tell Ron." I raged. Ginny stared at me for a minute, like she was thinking deeply. Finally, she grinned.

"If you tell Ronald, I will tell everyone about this little thing going on between you and that girl over there. Maria Walker is it?" she said smugly. My jaw dropped.

"Are you blackmailing me Ginevra Weasley?" I asked incredulously. I shouldn't be surprised though. Ginny has wholeheartedly taken what the Weasley's call, "The Fred and George Road to Hell".

"Yes, I believe I am. And dear God, don't call me Ginevra." She said, winking as she left.

"Later, you horny devil, you." She said, laughing.

"Bye, you blackmailing little bint. Don't forget, we have a quidditch meeting in ten!" I called after her retreating back. She turned around and stuck her tongue out at me, then continued walking out of my sight. I grinned, and turned back to Maria, who was actually snoring. I shook my head, wondering how was it that a little slip of a thing like Maria could actually snore so loud. It was unnerving. Did she always snore? It was kind of a turn off. If it weren't for the fact that she was so damn cute, I would have lost all liking for her in _that_ way. I watched her sleep, not particularly peacefully, but whatever. Her eyelids, framed by lashes that I could've sworn were longer yesterday, quivered, and her not full, but perfectly shaped lips were slightly parted. Her nose wasn't exactly cute as it was a bit large, it didn't match her sweet face, but it kinda made me like her more, since she wasn't perfect.

I shook her shoulder lightly, trying to wake her up, but it was like she was dead, except for the loud snores.

"Ria. Ria, wake up." I said, shaking her a bit harder. She stopped snoring with a slight grunt.

"Shut up. I need sleep." She muttered, turning over. I rolled my eyes. She was definitely not a morning person.

"Maria, I have to go. I have a quidditch meeting to go to." I said, slightly impatiently. She groaned.

"But it's so early!" I looked at my watch. It read 12:15.

"Maria, it's already the afternoon. I'm have to go. Are you going to come with?" I asked, getting up, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Fine." She grumbled, getting up. Her hair was all out of place, having escaped it pony tail, and she looked like she was going to fall asleep standing up, but she still looked cute, in a sleepy kinda way.

"You're a mess." I said. Her eyes opened, and she fairly glared at me.

"Thanks." She said. I winced.

"Okay, that was stupid of me to say. Here." I said, brushing her hair down. It was so soft…

She bowed her head, her chin to her chest, eyes partially closed.

"Thanks." She yawned. She lifted her head, eyes finally open, and then they suddenly snapped shut.

"Argh! Stupid sun! It must die!" She groaned. I raised my eyebrows. The girl sure liked to complain in the morning. I myself liked waking up fairly early.

"Erm-I'm gonna go. The meeting started five minutes ago." I said uncomfortably. Maria shrugged.

"Whatever. Go. I'm going back to my dorm." She said, sounding grumpy.

"Okay. See you at try outs, 2:00 sharp." I said. She shrugged again.

"We'll see." She said, transfiguring the blanket back to a rock, then trudged away off in the direction of the school, and I walked over to the quidditch pitch.

How can someone that seems as sweet as her be such a pain in the arse? I suppose I could blame it on the morning thing. I'm not used to it. Everyone I know is a morning person. But she seemed so terribly bitchy… cute little thing… Blimey! Girls, I'll never understand them!


End file.
